Harassed on the Subway? There’s an App for That

Here in Boston there have been a number of recent reported incidents of harassment and indecent assault on the subway (or T as we call it).

A man allegedly exposed himself at two stops Tuesday night. Two more men are charged with indecent assault –one for allegedly rubbing himself against a woman passenger, and the other for groping a woman. Another man was in court after turning himself in. He was wanted for pulling down a teenage girl’s shirt and touching her on the Red Line. And those are just the reported incidents, and only in Boston

When I was riding the subway daily to my first job in the city, it never occurred to me to report a man rubbing up against me in a crowded car. I just accepted it as a riding hazard along with the doors closing too quickly or my train suddenly becoming an express.  And when a man exposed himself to me one night on a late, deserted commuter train, I vowed never to sit alone in a car again. If I had my iPhone back then, I could have fought back.

Hollaback is “a movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile phone technology.” If you encounter a creep on the street or the subway, snap his picture and post it at the Hollaback site. In a few days, the organization will launch the ihollaback iPhone app. Check back here for availability and as they say at Hollaback, “If you can’t slap ‘em, snap ‘em.”

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Tags: hollaback, indecent assault, mbta, red line, street harassment, subway